Road to the Oscars 2013: Best Sound Editing

Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of my top three favorite movies of all time. It won four academy awards in 1981, none of which were part of the big five (Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, Actress). It did win for Best Sound Editing though. But, what the hell is sound editing anyway? Easy, a sound editor assembles all the sound you hear in the final picture, which is gathered from both production sound captured the day of shooting (usually dialogue) and Foley/effects captured later. A sound editor then selects the right pieces of sound to accompany the picture (okay, maybe not so easy). With the help of the director, the Sound Editor puts the pieces together to make a good movie great. One of the many unsung heroes of great movies. Here’s the ones that will hopefully get their moment to sing this year.

Zero Dark Thirty – Paul N.J. Ottosson When it comes to movies of this nature, there is an atmospheric difficulty. Based on a true story and devoid of typical “action” movie clichés, there are very few musical cues that are ramped up for effect. Dialog and appropriate foley (here being defined as the sounds of weapons and war) must mesh perfectly with the ominous silence that precedes a daring, tactical raid. Kind of like true events featured in the film itself.

Argo – Erick Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn Opposite only in execution to the previously mentioned film, the sound team behind Argo had the immense task of melding the sounds of a by gone era with the intensity necessary to tell a dramatic war story. Any misstep on the part of the audio runs the risk of pulling the audience out of the moment, and while that statement is true for EVERY movie, it is especially true when dealing with a familiar set up in an unfamiliar setting.

Django Unchained – Wylie StatemanSound, and it’s effects on cinema, have been as much a part of Taratino’s success as a director as his luck with career timing, his writing talent, and the availability of certain high profile actors looking for “indie” projects. Thus, the sound editor on any of his pictures sure have their work cut out for them. Especially when he ventures off into films that deal with specific historical times. Never one for convention, the sounds in this picture capture both the old feel of the south 150+ years ago, and the contemporary hip that slides into every movie Tarantino has directed.

Skyfall – Per Hallberg and Karen Baker LandersTechnically spot on, with guns, explosions, bare knuckle fisticuffs and all things in-between done with the precision of MI6, but for the Oscar, as much as the movie was dazzling, the sound editing seemed somewhat expected for a film in this genre. Nothing special here, but no detractors as well.

Life of Pi – Eugene Gearty and Philip StocktonA tough challenge, for sure, to synch up with what is sure to be an Oscar award winning Visual Effects department, the challenge here was to take the fantastic eye candy and wind it into a marriage with the accompanying audio. Good? Yes. Great? Remains to be seen come ballot time.

PREDICTION: DJANGO UNCHAINED – outside of a (well deserved) possible supporting actor award for Christoph Waltz, Tarantino’s pictures don’t usually spell instant Oscar. But they still deserve some recognition, and who doesn’t want to put “Academy Award Winning Film” on the sleeve of the blue-ray. The talent behind Wylie Statemans work as well as Oscar politics will be the reasons that this category goes to Django.

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Ian Murphy is a full time writer and amateur charlatan. When he's not trolling dive bars for redheads with low standards, he can be found watching classic horror movies, reading the graphic novels of Alan Moore, and writing his next hit screenplay (most likely the sequel to Six Days Seven Nights).